Malanka

Unfortunately and not a lot of people know this but GOD is in fact dyslexic and his particular form of dyslexia involves substitution. When he means to say or write Lancashire, unfortunately for him and everyone born on the right side of the penines out comes Yorkshire. Pity really only a few miles off. So near yet so far... Dysexia rules KO....

Helloo everyone, Boat is progressing and we have discussed the extent of the rot and what is expected and they are going at it with a will. The only way to deal with this is to get it out when you find it and that's what they are doing. Here are some more update pictures which although show a lot of planks missing reassure me were getting to the bottom of it now... Thank you to the boatyard for the pictures of the progress. Malanka will soon be restored to her full glory and we will be out floating until my vacation time runs out. M & F

Moored at Acle many times both at the pub and upstream and across the river and we have never ever been charged once upstream or across the river. Happy to pay the pub fee and enjoy the atmosphere from atop the boat or under a shady brolley. Fiona and I have noticed that in our opinion the food is fine but the portiions are huge and of the typical pub grub variety. For a while it did have a much smaller portion size and what I would describe as gastro pub type food. Not sure this was popular though as it soon disappeared. You take as you find and it's popular so thats all anyone who doesn't own it needs to know. The Bear and Bell in Beccles is an excellent establishment too that is fully dog friendly just like the bridge. Long may it continue. And as when on holiday I'm a big kid who can't resist spending a pound on the two pence machines ...Such fun.... wooo hooo The ship is fun but i'm too old for that as Fiona told me recently.

Griff mate what's that red thing under the wheelhouse floor? Propper engines are blue mate...Big huge clunky things. She is a beauty mate, well done Robin it's a super video blog of BA. See you floating really soon (I hope) M

Needless to say we WERE planing on taking Mal to Horsey this summer. With everything down and silly masty thing removed not just folded away she is 6/6 or 6/5 we don't know yet as we need an acurate measure. What I do know is that with new planks she will sit lower in the water at the bow than she does now which will be good. (pulpit rail is highest point) For those interested before the last big resoration she was 7 feet at the rail. After she was restored and sat properly in the water (not bow up) she dropped to 6/6 or so. The transom is higher now and the exhaust isn't 5/6 submreged anymore (not in the water at all actually) but that slight change of angle over 38ft made a huge difference. Removing the windscreen wiper gave us another 2 inches on the cabin top too (to match the pulpit rail height). So Doug we will be taking your route and when all fixed and mended, polished, primped and primed, we will be asking the Pilot to have a look mate .... Anyone wishing to witness said risky spectacle can do so from inside the boat to lower the airdraft. Daft yorkshire folks especially appreciated. I can't wait we are all going stir crazy not being able to float....

Remember 3x100 W solar panels is max theoretical installed output not average and bears little resemblace to what you will get on a cloudy day in Norfolk so lukewarm would perhaps be a stretch. Hot sunny day is different and then the're great. (output drops off when they get hot) Cost vs benefit is a real bummer. We are thinking of getting some for the convenience of topping up the batteries when the fidge is going nuts making ice for the cocktails, but where to put them on a woodie that doesn't ruin the aesthetics and originality is the problem. We may just stick with a bag of ice cubes from Roys. As my son would say "developed world problems"... The latest techy flexible roll out ones are great but I dont want to sell the children to buy the panels.

When we lived in the UK we had sky everything. We moved to Germany and kept sky everything (don't ask its complicated but possible). Then we moved to Belgium and had sky everything (yes still complicated but possible). Now we live in Switzerland and its still possible but with everything in Der Schweiz its bloomin expensive. So we have our internet providers cable TV (no you pervs not like that) that has the freebies ususally available on freesat etc. and Netflix and iplayer and everything else. Guess what we don't miss it at all. It's not illegal in CH to stream other peoples paid for feeds which is quite amusing. Everyone here pays to have a radio digital or otherwise and its not cheap but you simply cant get away from it. Same in Germany and Belgium too. Difference is here not paying it gets you noticed and its criminal if you subsequently are caught with one. There is a church tax too but we don't pay that, we just listen to the bells. It drowns out the tinkling of the cows. We pay dog tax of 100CHF per dog per year, mandatory chipping with canton issued ID tags (they have a bear on them which is quite cute) Not on topic but interesting none the less. I don't like the Biased Broadcasting Corporation, nor the way it is funded and I stopped watching their news output years ago when I noticed it was entirely one sided most of the time. For work I had to learn what a logical fallacy was (appeals from authority etc), and an extended quotation or pre supposition first mind you. That learning experience changed the way I viewed all news broadcasts to be honest. The great part is that the kids learned all about this at school in their Theory Of Knowledge courses for the I.B. Having theoretical discussions on logical fallacies over dinner was very challenging with two older teens. Interestingly the Beeb takes over 1/3 of every single paper copy of the Gruniad sold. Thousands of them. You would expect a media organisation to use the electronic version but no.... For a laugh you could look at the Guardian then at the BBC news output and spot the common themes and interpretations all over the place. Its especially evident on BBC news 24 (for foreigners). Compare and Contrast that with France 24, Al Jazeera and Russia today for a laugh. Its a game a friend and I play which moves the day along sometimes. OK you got your homeweork now....Written paper in my inbox end of next week please. That Cambridge education will come in handy.

In the right conditions the horrible nasty thing can travel three feet (yes three feet) in a few days. The tendrils look like whispy white things and are very delicate. That wood! I don't know what it is but its lovely to look at. I think maybe I was an Oragutan in a previous life. M

No criticism Viking and I welcome your input. I was just suggesting that as I know the organisations and individuals regularly read this forum that I would not wish to push them into a corner before we have even spoken. We currently do not know why three years old planks were dry rotted so quickly. I can surmise as I ( luckily for me) happen to be a professional microbiologist and am thoroughly familiar with the propagation of dry rot. There are some likely causes some of which you eloquently outlined and yes that may be true. I don't feel I can be seen to be making my mind up before I have the other side of the discussion heard and understood. There are some whacky potential causes which may turn out to be true. Microbes are funny beasts and they don't always do what we think they should. My professional opinion is that something is different now than before and we need to identify what that is. After that tis a negotiation . I will update everyone with the results and we can all go down the pub and celebrate a good outcome. My main concern at the moment is ensuring she gets good treatment and everything is done to remove rotted/rotting and likely to rot planks. Thanks for your posts it's really nice to realise our concerns are shared by others . It's quite humbling actually and it's very nice so thank you. M

i will not comment further until we have met and discussed actions. I am confident we will get this sorted in the right way. Please will everyone refrain from speculating in public forum. I will let everyone know how this is resolved, I am sure all will be good. M

All replacement planks are being dry rot treated. M

We have pictures but they are too graphic for a public forum. M

Dear all, Some bad news Malanka it has been revealed has extensive requirements for replacement planks in many places. She will remain out of service for a further considerable period. Some of the planks were only added in 2014. M

When you have a mouthful of beaver you're supposed to cough up and spit out the fur... Doh

If you remember Norman cruisers you may know Fred Chiles my dad used to go offshore powerboat racing with him. He is the designer of the teal an turn hull types . He build a wooden offshore racer in his driveway I played in it when was tiny. Nice man man long since crossed the bridge M

Natural England now what is that exactly... I know it's a quango but "Natural England"..... Kind of a contradiction in terms. What they should be called is "England the way a bunch of unelected numpties want to keep it". These are the folks responsible alongside the EU and the Rivers Authority for the debacle that was the Sommerset levels. They are also on record as suggesting its perfectly OK to let East Norfolk catastophically flood as its natural. Ya don't say.....Maybe they should try selling that one to the Dutch... Nope didn't think so.... As you can gather I am not a fan of "Natural England" and its political goals and agendas. Let's say you saw a Beaver but it was in the middle of a nest of great crested Newts. I'm quite sure the associated risk assessment would take an age. To return to the more lighthearted theme so far. I see nothing wrong with seeing beavers fuzzy or otherwise whilst boating. The boat name Moist Beaver II always raises a smile. I will make sure to send them a picture next time I see it. (of the boat you bunch of pervs)

First describe what a B. R . A. O . D . is... beats me.

Unfortunately Waffles not a big thing in Switzerland. More cheese than you can shake a stick at, steak at 60 quid a kilo and rents to make your eyes water but no waffles. Chocolate is cheap here (relatively) and even the supermarket versions are really good. Nothing to compete with the Neuhaus factory shop in Brussels though which is where the chocolates used to come from. Waffles were everywhere. Here in der Schweis its not quite so good as BE for choccies. For instance a turkey for Christmas is over 120 quid. They like beef rib or Goose. More boat pictures to come hopefully of good progress,.

My mum used to work for Walters and Partington builders in Shaw. Small world eh ! M

You do know I'm a Rochdale boy ? Lifelong supporter of football just not united . Lol both my boys are united supporters. Rochdale to old old trafford is 17 miles by road. M

Welcome and no not jealous not jealous at all, no no nope did I say I'm not jealous....

Hello from us, when you see us afloat just come say hi.

I leave that up to Tim. We try to keep the cellar stocked you know , just ask Barry .....

A person after my own heart. Nothing really apart from cooking times and the availability of copious amounts of garlic butter. M

We watched it was heartwarming. Love and tolerance are our shields against this pernicious warped ideology. All we have to do to win is just keep going doing what we do, it may take a long time but we will show these people that no matter what they choose to do they cannot and will not prevail.